


I Let You Down

by jacquelee



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, I'm sure someone wrote this already, but I just got this idea, character death is for the snap, so here you are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: Carol arrives too late to save Fury after Thanos' snap and remembers the other occasion when she was late.Set at the very beginning of Endgame with flashbacks to after the end of Avengers.
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Nick Fury
Kudos: 18





	I Let You Down

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Superhero_land](https://superhero-land.livejournal.com/) for the prompt "I let you down."

When she had gotten the signal, Carol had tried to come to Earth as quickly as possible but it wasn't as easy as she had hoped. The entire galaxy was crumbling, wherever she turned, there was panic, pain and devastation. It was impossible for her to turn her back on everything, not even for Fury. 

Still, she made the journey in record time, only allowing the most pressing emergencies to slow her down. 

But when she finally arrived on Earth, pinpointing the signal's origin and obviously breathing through the compound's abysmal security system, Fury was not there. Instead, she found a lot of people she didn't know and who were at first quite hostile to her. 

Even when most of them seemed to accept her explanation that she was Fury's friend, some remained skeptical and she couldn't fault them. At least they didn't mind giving her the information she needed, even when it wasn't something she particularly looked forward to hearing. 

Seeing Fury's picture among those who had been eliminated was what really made it real, what made it all sink in. There was nothing she could do. Fury had reached out to her and she had disappointed him.

She had been too late. Again.

7 years earlier

It wasn't like she didn't see Fury as a friend and definitely not that she didn't see his signal as something of utmost importance but she was also on the other side of the galaxy when it reached her, so traveling to Earth took her a while, even when she wrapped up her current affairs as soon as possible to get there.

When she arrived, there didn't seem to be any imminent danger, even though the major city the signal had originated from seemed quite worse for wear. A battle had taken place here. Very recently. A battle that was most likely the reason Fury had asked her here but also a battle that clearly was over now.

With a heavy heart she found Fury, who didn't even look up when she appeared in his office. He looked older, and it was not just the fact that he wore an eye patch and had no hair, it was his entire demeanor. He had never been a carefree person but now he looked like he was carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

Which, as she realized, was probably exactly what he did.

After a long while with neither of them saying anything, Fury sighed, but still didn't look up.

"Nice of you to drop by. But as you can see, we handled things on our own, so…"

He gestured to the door, finally looking at her. It was impossible to read him, but even after the short time they had spent together, Carol knew him well enough to know that her not coming to his aid, to his planet's aid had disappointed him. And as much as she told herself that he was just an old acquaintance she owed nothing to, it stung.

"I let you down." 

She kept her voice level, revealing none of the emotions she felt. But Fury seemed to understand that she did feel them anyways as his look changed from cold to something else she couldn't quite pinpoint. Was that the beginning of a smile? She couldn't tell, and it only added to her confusion when he sighed again and then unexpectedly chuckled. 

"No you didn't. You know why?" 

He got up and took a folder from his desk, putting it in front of her so she could read the title.

"Avengers Initiative?"

Fury nodded.

"Your idea. Well, my idea, but you were the one who inspired it. Sure, I would have liked you to be here to shoot those bastards out of the sky, but I knew it was a long shot at best. So I looked for others, who could help us like you did all those years ago. And I found them." 

Now Carol was even more confused.

"Others like me?"

"Not exactly like you, no, but others with powers. Experiments gone wrong, experiments gone right. Some assassins, an alien. A guy in a suit. They're the ones who stepped up, who filled your footsteps. And they did so remarkably well. So, no, you didn't let me down. You gave me this idea. And it saved the world."

Still not really understanding, Carol nodded anyways, and smiled, happy that she hadn't disappointed Fury after all.


End file.
